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Building & Construction

At DuPont, we're focused on dynamic science that generates real-world solutions. That's why DuPont is at the forefront of building science, with brands you depend on, like Tyvek®, SentryGlas®, Corian® solid surfaces, Zodiaq® quartz surfaces and Kevlar®.

Electronics

With a deep understanding of materials science, a commitment to technology leadership, a wide range of process expertise and a long history of innovation, DuPont offers the industry’s broadest array of high performance electronic materials.

Energy

With the world’s population projected to surpass 9 billion by 2050, now is the time to prepare for a secure energy future. We invite you to collaborate with our global teams to find science-driven, sustainable energy solutions.

Food & Beverage

At DuPont, we're putting science to work in the food and beverage industry — improving the nutritional value of food, ensuring food safety, and finding smart, sustainable solutions to feed a growing population.

Health Care & Medical

DuPont offers a broad range of healthcare products and high-performance materials that help create safer healthcare environments, contribute to innovations in medical devices and help protect the health of patients and healthcare providers worldwide.

Safety & Protection

In the face of growing global industrialization, DuPont takes safety and protection seriously. Learn how DuPont continues to improve upon its materials and workplace safety performance to help keep all of us safe in the toughest conditions.

DuPont™ Nomex® and the Thermo-Man® Test

In industrial applications, the main thermal hazards against which workers need to be protected are heat and flame, fire, heat of an electric arc and molten metal splashes.

DuPont™ Thermo-Man® was invented by DuPont and has been a basis for the development of test method standard ISO 13506.

Thermo-Man® is a life-size mannequin equipped with 122 heat sensors, which is dressed in test garments and then totally engulfed into flames generated by propane gas burners.

This test simulates the exposure of a garment to a typical excess fuel fire with temperatures rising up to 1,000°C. It predicts the garment’s protective performance and integrity against heat, flame and fire during such a typical fire incident.

The heat sensors record the temperature rise on the surface of the mannequin while a computer simulation programme calculates:

The predicted percentage of second- and third-degree burns a person might suffer on his or her body under similar conditions

The position of the burns, and the percentage of burns compared to the total of the body

The burn evolution over the measuring time, resulting in the person’s chance to survive the incident (in %) in conjunction with the victim’s age

EN ISO 11612 stipulates an optional test for the whole garment according to ISO 13506 at 84kW/m2 (2cal/cm2/sec.) and recommends 4 seconds flash fire exposure time for the following reason:“Experience has shown that test conditions of at least 4 seconds at 84 kW/m2 give the most complete information about the protective performance of single and multilayer clothing assemblies. For multilayer garments or for clothing assemblies, test conditions of up to 8 seconds might be necessary.” (source: EN ISO 11612)

Test results:

Garments made of Nomex® were compared to cotton and cotton-blend garments which had been treated with flame-retardant chemicals:

Wearing protective clothing made of Nomex® results in the lowest percentage of total body burns, increasing the survival chances of a heat and flame victim considerably.